Urban Encounters
by AdversusTriplex
Summary: Torn apart from each other, Toshiro finds himself in New York, surrounded by bustling city lights and heated sultry romance, where vows are readily forgotten. Seduced by the laces of fame and fortune, will he and Momo be able to fight off the allurement brought on by an enamored Karin and the enigmatic wealthy heir Yukio? HitsuHina
1. A Parting Promise

**Disclaimer: We do not own Bleach. Cuz if we did… Hitsugaya's lips would be sore from the kissing *winks***

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**Chapter 1 - A Parting Promise**

_When I was five years old I saw a couple locked in each other's arms by the train station. Huddled in his embrace, the girl was crying, her tears mingling with the rain. Seeing her tears, the boy vowed, "I will never forget you. This love will not end." Then he got on the train and left, leaving her standing alone on the empty platform._

_A year later, when I was shopping near the town square, I saw the girl again. In the arms of another boy. She was laughing, as if she forgot all about that day when all she could hold onto for hope was her lover's vow._

_They say that separated love will not end. It always does._

_Toshiro and I... I can still feel Toshiro's arms around me, his warm breath whispering in my ear. It feels so real!_

_But I know destiny has a better fate awaiting us. I know that Toshiro and I are different, and I know that our love will last, even if, diary, we are thousands of miles apart._

_But somewhere in my heart, I can't help but fear or doubt, just "what if? What if he does find a prettier, wealthier or kinder girl?" What if the opportunities in the great big city awaiting him distracts him from me? Change is inevitable, but so is everything else. I hope I can see Shiro-chan soon._

Momo lowered her pen and stared out the window with a heavy heart.

A few miles away, a plane was lifting off the ground.

* * *

Toshiro felt the plane tilt and lift. His seat was right by the window, he slammed the circular shutter down.

It had been less than an hour since he'd hugged Momo goodbye, but he couldn't help it. He missed Momo.

A girl sat down beside him, her bulky, duffel bag of sports equipment knocking into his outstretched feet.

_Idiot._

"Hey," she said, giving him a friendly smile. Toshiro turned away from her curious eyes, annoyed. He was in no mood, especially now, for cheer of any sort. Especially from a girl who wasn't Momo.

"Isn't it a little late to be sitting down now?" Toshiro muttered under his breath.

"I was in the washroom," the stranger huffed in defense, scowling at his stoic, I-couldn't-care-less attitude.

He'd have preferred that she stayed in the lavatory. But something about her reminded him of... _Momo? No. Not this brute._

Besides, Momo was miles away. _This girl... who was she?_

"I'm Karin Kuro- Um, I'm Karin," she said, as if hearing his thoughts.

"I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Toshiro? That's a weird name."

"Where I come from, Karin is a weird name." His thoughts flashed back to Hinamori.

Karin burst out laughing. "I've been attending a Japanese soccer tournament with my team. What are you going to America for, Shiro-chan?" Toshiro's heart leaped as he heard the familiar nickname, then he realized it was only Karin.

"Don't call me that!" he snapped.

Karin stared. "Why?"

"Just don't," Toshiro muttered, feeling dumb.

"Fine. I'll call you Hitsugaya," she decided.

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to America to set up a business there."

"You can't be any older than me!"

"So go and start your own business."

"I don't need to, because –"

"Because?"

"I'm already a star soccer player! And I'm very well off myself already." She paused, and for a moment Toshiro thought she would explain further. But she shook her head and just smiled.

"Then good for you." Toshiro turned around in his chair and stared out the plane window. Already, they were above the clouds. He could only make out the light from the beacon on the mountains, blinking him goodbye.

**KARIN'S POV**

Karin watched as Toshiro slowly fell asleep, his eyes drifting shut and his head hanging to the side. He had been staring out the window for so long that Karin had been about to knock him on the head, make sure he was okay.

_He's really cute. I wonder how old he actually is. I wonder if he's single.._

_NONONONOOOOO why would I care even if he was? He's a stranger, doesn't even know how rich I am._

She kicked herself angrily, just to make sure she was awake and actually sitting next to this smexy eyed adorable-

_Stop it, me!_

_It would be dangerous to make contact with people who just look good. Hasn't Dad always told me to stay away from drug dealers, or hired assassins disguised as handsome strangers?_

But she couldn't bring herself to take her eyes off him.

_I bet he'd be good at soccer._

"Excuse me, miss, would you like chicken or fish?"

She tore her eyes away. "Sorry, I don't eat on planes."

The lady gave her a strange look, then plastered a smile onto her face. "Water, maybe?" the attendant asked, reaching for a bottle from her trolley.

"Sure."

"Here you go-And what will you have, sir, chicken or fish?" she glanced at Karin ."Or water?"

"Sorry…" Toshiro mumbled, and his head drooped down even further.

The attendant gave them another odd look. "You two don't eat much, do you?"

She pushed her cart away, leaving the wafting scent of hot food and melted plastic.

Karin turned back to the slumbering form of Toshiro, amazed at how short and vulnerable he looked while sleeping.

His head hit the window and he stirred, muttering strange words. "It's not what it seems… I'm sorry…" Toshiro's eyebrows furrowed, even in his sleep, as he forced out his heart-wrenching apologies. "Hinamori, I promise…I…I'll…" The rest of his promise was lost in the corridors of his ongoing nightmare as he fell back into troubled sleep.

Karin reached for her glass of water, her mind whirling. _Should I wake him? Should I leave him to slumber and worry about whatever horrible things are tormenting his mind? "Hinamori" doesn't seem like a very nice person to be dragging him down like that. Maybe she's the reason he's moving to America._

She grabbed the water. _I wish he'd tell me what's going on, maybe I could help him, introduce him to some people that can make him rich. God, he's moving again-_

Then without a warning, his arm flew out from under his blanket as if to brush something unpleasant away, and her glass of water was knocked out of her hand. She fumbled for the glass, in a desperate effort not to awake him but only succeeded in spilling even more of its contents over his sleeping form.

His eyes snapped open and Karin found herself being gazed at by the most beautiful, striking, ice blue eyes.

"H-Hinamori?" He reached out to touch her face, his fingertips inches away. "Hinamori!" he exclaimed feverishly, several volumes too loud.

People around them turned, alarmed. Some stirred from their sleep, and others stared, annoyance flickered over their faces. Murmurs of disgust rippled over the cabin.

Karin squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get away but failing. _What is this feeling? Why can't I move!? _She opened a tentative eyelid and peeked back at him, half scared and half incredulous at his sudden actions.

Toshiro's hands stopped inches in front of her nose, He blinked, and the dreamy fog cleared from his eyes. He turned away, blushing furiously, gritting his teeth. _"Fuck."_

All of a sudden his eyes widened as he saw the water seeping through his briefcase, and, hands shaking, reached for his bangs. They were dripping wet. Karin watched as he fumbled desperately for his briefcase, threw it open and flipped madly through the many papers and folders. "Where are you, where did you go!?" he mumbled frantically.

Toshiro grabbed a plastic wrapped package and gently tugged it open, suddenly slow and earnest. Karin leaned closer to see the photo he pulled out of it.

Karin's heart stopped.

The photo was of Toshiro, but he wasn't alone.

Clutching his arm was a delicate, fragile girl, smiling at the camera with crystal clear eyes as if carved out of glass. She was so beautiful next to him, but…

Karin suddenly felt jealous. She remembered the words he had murmured in his sleep.

_The thing Toshiro made a promise to and left behind… was this her?_

**TOSHIRO'S POV**

_The photo. That's the only thing that matters right now._

And at the moment, staring at Hinamori and him sitting on a pagoda, holding hands, one smiling, one scowling, he thought he could be relieved that it was unaffected by the water. He should be feeling happy the photo wasn't ruined.

But the only feeling he had was sadness.

She was his only friend, maybe even more than a friend. But Toshiro himself had chosen to go to America and leave her behind.

Toshiro forced himself to look away. There was no point in feeling so much guilt.

His eyes met Karin's, and her eyes were wide, questioning.

_What does she want!?_

A sudden rush of anger shook him. "Did you see it?" he whispered urgently. "Did you see what was in the package?"

She replied, voice shaking. "Who is she?"

Full-fledged emotion flooded her eyes. Was it anger? Jealousy?

Jealousy!? Impossible. Jealous of what? Of Hinamori? No, he must have been imagining it.

_Shit._ "Forget you saw anything." Toshiro carefully replaced the photo and slipped it into an inner pocket in his waterproof jacket.

"She's that Hinamori girl, isn't she?"

"Forget it!" Toshiro crossed his arms and stared back out the window. Nosy brat.

"…Fine. Then you should forget about her too," Karin declared. "Forget the past. It'll only drag you down. Promise?"

"What the fuck!"

"You can stay with my family and I." Karin grinned, clasping his hands.

"The frick? You're a complete stranger," Toshiro muttered, jerking his hands away.

"Well, do you have anywhere else to stay?"

"…."

"Alright then. You're coming with me." She gave him another cheerful smile.

Toshiro scowled and turned to the window again.

* * *

**A/N**

**Kanako-chan: Just to reassure, this is a HitsuHina fanfic by purely HitsuHina authors, though there are hints of love triangles. Warning: Karin is definitely going to be an OOC sooner or later, in case you don't want to see that. Thanks for reading our first chapter J please review and follow our story for our further updates! Konbanwa, minna!**

**Himeka-sama: I like pudding candy. And review. Oh, and…wait. I already said I like pudding candy.**

**Kiyo: Ohayo creeps! Your homework for today: READ & REVIEW & WATCH ANIME! READY SET GO!**

**Luv from the AdversusTriplex~~**


	2. Prepare for Landing

**A/N**

**Kanako:**_** Hello again! Sorry for not updating for sooo long =.= Well here's the second chapter... we hope you like it!**_

**Himeka:**_** I like Nutella.**_

_*****Edit: We've changed Kon from a stuffed animal to a real youth...*****_

**Disclaimer: We don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo does**

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**Chapter 2 – ****Prepare for Landing**

**TOSHIRO'S POV**

"Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing," the pilot announced over the crackling PA ,"We are arriving at our destination. It is five sixteen in the morning, so please set your watches accordingly. The temperature is twenty degrees Celsius with sunny skies. Please remember to shut off all electronics and the lavatories will be closed until our next flight. Thank you."

Grumbling, Toshiro rolled in his seat, disgusted at being woken up for a stupid announcement about the obvious. He felt the plane tip forwards and hit the ground, tall glass buildings zooming into view.

"And thank you for flying with Shinigami Airlines. We hope to serve you again in the near future."

All around them, people began to get up, stretch, and take their luggage out of the baggage compartments. Attendants rushed out to help Karin lug up her giant baggage, but she heaved it up with one hand. "I'm good," Toshiro heard her tell them.

Toshiro watched her sling it over her shoulder, its bottom almost touching the floor.

"What kind of shit do you have in that thing?" Toshiro said in disbelief, incredulous that a girl would be so nonchalant about carrying such a heavy load.

"Oh, just more sports equipment." She grinned at him, holding the luggage by its straps like a dumbbell

Toshiro patted his jacket pocket just to make sure his photo was safe. He grabbed his briefcase and pushed past her and into the cramped hallway of the airplane cabin.

_What is wrong with me? I never budge in front of people. At least not girls._

Which went to prove that he was completely different without Momo around. Gritting his teeth furiously he stepped off the airplane with Karin tagging along at his heels. All he wanted to do was get to his hotel and have a shower, but first he had to shake his extra "baggage" off.

Except for the fact that he hadn't booked a hotel yet.

_Damnit._

Well there was Karin's offer…

_No, SHIT_! Toshiro thought angrily. _I don't want to accept an offer from that kind of annoyingly stuck-up girl!_

Okay, she wasn't too stuck-up. Just a nosy friendly stranger. A very nosy stranger.

_Guess I'll be staying with her for a while. Just until I can buy my own apartment or something._

**KARIN'S POV**

Karin followed Toshiro all the way to customs before he finally spoke to her. And when he finally did…

"I'm going to line up for customs. Join another line, idiot!" he said, and lost himself in the crowd that was lined up in front of the stations.

She raised an eyebrow. This guy has some real anger issues.

She beseechingly hung her head, and reluctantly joined a different line, stuck between a bratty little kid and an old man. "You got any candy?" the kid demanded in his squeaky voice, as if Karin was his nanny.

"Lollipops are the beginning of all evil," the elder said solemnly. "Do you understand?"

"Sure I do," she nodded, giving both of them a lollipop, giving the elder a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Eat it after you get through customs, or your mom will get angry at you."

The kid nodded and tore the wrapper away, completely disobeying her advice. At least he had clean teeth.

The old man stuck it in his mouth without unwrapping it. Karin shook her head at his obscenity.

Once they got through customs, she scanned around for her escort. The airport was crowded, full of relatives and friends welcoming their loved ones back. Her escort, whoever he or she was, seemed to blend in completely with the mingling surroundings.

Suddenly Karin noticed a man in a black suit standing to the side, holding a sign reading her name.

_Oh good, finally. Maybe Dad should have him wear something neon next time._

"Excuse me, I'm sorry but I have to leave. Brush your teeth afterwards, okay?"

She moved through the crowd over to the man.

"Miss Kurosaki," he bowed. "Welcome back. Luggage, miss?"

Karin tossed him her duffel bag. A hand shot away and caught the bag in one, fluid motion. He didn't even flinch from the weight.

"Then I shall be on my way. Your papers have been taken care of. A limo will be waiting for your entire soccer team, at the Premium Deluxe Diamond-Class exit. Good day." He stalked off, holding the duffel bag atop his shoulder with one hand, the other carrying his own personal briefcase.

Karin followed him as far as the arrival area, then looked around. _Where did that Hitsugaya guy go?_

"Kurosaki-san!" Two guys rushed up to her, waving tickets. "We won we won we won we won we woooooooooooon!"

"Won what?" she asked, a little distracted.

"The lottery!" The two of them grinned from ear to ear, looking mischievous.

"While we were on the plane, the results came out! Keigo went to check and then we went to find you." Ichigo smirked. "Welcome to the million-dollar world!"

"Dummy, she's already a millionaire and so are you," Keigo scoffed, swatting Ichigo on the head. "That's why she was first class and we were all stuck in economy."

"I could have been in first class too! Heck, I'm related to her!" Ichigo shot back.

"Awesome! Extra spending money," Karin said excitedly. "Hey, where's the rest of the team?"

"Still in customs," Ichigo said, jerking a thumb towards the lines they'd left.

"By the way, the limo is waiting at the Premium Deluxe Diamond-Class exit," Karin confirmed. She paused, a small grin sneaking over her face. "Oh, and I'm dragging along a friend of mine. He'll be staying at our place, Ichigo."

"WHAAAAT Guy or girl?!" Ichigo exclaimed, eyes narrowing.

"Guy, dummy, she said 'he'!" Keigo sighed.

**Meanwhile…**

Toshiro passed customs (after meddling with a flirty customs officer) and appeared on the other side.

He looked around. _I was going to stay with that Karin person, but I can't see her anywhere._

"Yoooo, Hitsugaya!" shouted a guy's voice.

_What the heck? I don't know anyone here yet?!_ Toshiro turned around, puzzled.

Two guys were running towards him. One had orange hair. The other had brown hair.

"Who the frick are you?" Toshiro asked.

"Ichigo. He's Keigo," the orange-haired guy said.

Keigo grinned. "So you're Hitsugaya, huh?"

"How do you know my name?" demanded Toshiro.

"We're stalkers. Just kidding." Ichigo pointed behind him. "My sister told us who you are."

Toshiro looked behind him and saw Karin waving with a big smile on her face.

"Great. That's awesome. So what are you doing here?" Toshiro asked.

"Kidnapping you," Keigo laughed, and they both grabbed his arms and started pulling.

"Hey!" Toshiro twisted his hands away but he was already in front of Karin.

"Hiiiii Hitsugaya!" Karin squealed.

"You have an evil brother and… boyfriend?"

Keigo nodded. "Yup!"

"THE FRICK!" Karin punched Keigo in the face. "He's my friend. Soccer-teammate. That's IT." She gave Keigo a cold stare.

Keigo smiled and backed off.

"Anyway, you're coming with us. You don't mind limos, do you?" Karin winked.

"Doesn't sound too bad."

A few minutes later Toshiro found himself in a plush, spacey limo. On one side was Karin; on the other was some girl named Yuzu.

"We're twins," Karin explained. They didn't look alike at all.

"…..Why am I surrounded by girls?" Toshiro muttered.

Both girls ignored his words.

"Over there is a fridge. You like coke?"

"Sure." He was handed a coke.

Suddenly the door slid open and people started hopping in.

"Guys, guys, this is Toshiro! He'll be staying at my place for a while, until he can get his firm….or whatever kind of business he's starting started," Karin explained. "Introduce yourselves!"

A group of people filed in. A black haired girl led the group in and she spotted Toshiro. "HEY YOU! I don't know what your name is but I'm the boss, Rukia, so you better not forget it." She jabbed a thumb at her chest.

For such a small person, her glare was intense. She gestured to the others. "These girls are Tatsuki, who plays on the team, and Orihime, Chizuru and Michiru - they're our beloved cheerleaders! Make a move on them and you're dead meat."

"I don't plan to."

"You forgot to mention me!" a stuffed lion whined, latching onto Rukia's skirt.

"Did that thing just...talk?" Toshiro said, his face turning a shade paler.

"I'm KON-SAMA! I'm the head cheerleader!" the lion cheered.

"And Kon is not a 'thing'. Kon is me!" a male youth that was standing nearby clarified.

He had rings around all ten of his fingers, golden in colour and attached to them were near-invisible strings that controlled the puppet lion.

He was wearing a set of snazzy PJs, the pants covered in prints of chibi lions, the long-sleeved top was black with a lion's head on the front...bangle bracelets circling his wrists were a glossy lion-yellow with imprints that read "KON-SAMA RULES".

And he looked just like Ichigo.

Rukia whacked him across the face. "Get that thing off me, you fool!"

As the stuffed lion - "Kon" - moved away, rubbing its head, she waved at the girl next to Toshiro, "Yuzu's also a cheerleader, but she also cooks a lot for us especially when we're travelling, like across country or something. She makes the uniforms too."

Toshiro nodded, "You do a very good job," and Yuzu smiled in thanks.

"Our goalie is Chad," she continued, pointing to a very tall and muscular youth. He lifted a hand in greeting.

"Boys, introduce yourselves."

Ichigo stood up. "Ichigo Kurosaki, I play on the team."

"Kon Kurosaki! I'm Ichigo's cousin - don't get us mixed up."

Toshiro nodded, "I don't think I will if that's your everyday attire," earning a thumbs-up from Kon - "YOU BET!'

"And I'm Kei~go Asa~no~!"

"Uryuu Ishida. Nice to make your acquaintance."

"Mizuiro Kojima."

"Hajimemashite! My name is Hanataro Yamada."

"I'm Ikkaku Madarame."

Rukia sat down next to Karin. "Oh, and Keigo looks like a weakling, but he's a part of our team, so that means he's pretty good."

"Uhhh…..Thanks? I guess?" Keigo said.

"Not at all," smiled the woman.

Toshiro nodded slowly. "So that's seven guys, two girls, and one male goalie, Chad. Ten in total. Isn't that a bit short?"

"We each have the capabilities of at least 2 people. That's a lot more than eleven (not to brag), so we're pretty well off locally and tournament managers usually let us play as just a team of nine," Rukia informed him. "We usually hire up some kids to play for us when they don't - usually Ikkaku's classmate Yumichika but sometimes Keigo's older sister Mizuho as well."

At the name, Keigo gave a violent shiver. "She kicks harder than all of us combined!" he explained bitterly.

"YOU GOT THAT FRICKING RIGHT! Remind me to stay away from that She-Devil!" Ikkaku growled. Toshiro rose a questioning eyebrow.

"She's got a huge crush on him and makes him dress up in cute clothing," Karin snickered.

"Shut up!"

Karin waved a dismissing hand at the shiny-headed youth. "Anyways, she usually has a tight schedule so that's why she's not actually on our team."

"I see."

Toshiro turned to Ikkaku. It was obvious the guy took pride in his abilities, although seeing the team around him the rest didn't seem much better. "I suppose you're the star player, then?" He said dully.

"Of course," Ikkaku smirked.

"I have a team that I used to play in back when I was less…busy," Toshiro said. "Maybe we could play against each other someday?"

"With pleasure," Ikkaku grinned, then for the first time Toshiro's presence in New York actually dawned on him, "How old are you, anyway?"

"Old enough to be in America...travel on my own...start a business?"

Ikkaku raised an eyebrow. "Impressive."

"By the way, Ikkaku's the Prince Charming of the team," smirked Keigo as Chizuru and Michiru both smiled at Ikkaku for no reason.

"Nice to meet you too," Toshiro said. They both shook hands.

"Welcome back," said a man in a suit, walking in. "Please take a seat. The drive to Kurosaki Manor will begin shortly."

"Wait. Kurosaki Manor?!" Toshiro exclaimed." You're…. THE Kurosaki?! All three of you - Ichigo, Yuzu, and you?!" _No wonder the names sounded so familiar. They're the children of the famous Dr. Isshin Kurosaki, the idol of my younger years!_

"Yeah," Karin said, shrugging. "Anyway, the entire team is gonna stay at my place. The guys are gonna room together but you'll have your own room since you'll be staying there longer anyway."

Toshiro stared. _This brat…. she's a Kurosaki. So that's why this team is so prestigious… Maybe this will help my career or something._

The whole team took seats, the girls and boys mixing as comfortably as if they had known each other for years.

"Great! Now that everyone's friends, let's go," Karin said.

She turned around and rapped on the glass pane separating the team from the driver. 'Chauffeur, start driving, please!"

The limo started to move.

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**Kanako: Well how'd you like it? There was no Momo this time though... well we promise there will be more of her in the next chapter. Until next time!**


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